WELP, Arthur Jr. (1947-2022)

WELP

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 7/2/2022 at 10:12:33

Arthur Welp Jr.
(January 27, 1947 - January 17, 2022)

Arthur Charles Welp Jr., of Norwalk, Iowa, died Monday, Jan. 17, 2022, at home after a three-year battle with prostate cancer. Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 22, at St. John the Apostle Catholic Church in Norwalk, with a private burial following at Violet Hill Cemetery in Perry. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21, at St. John the Apostle Catholic Church, with a rosary to be recited at 7 p.m. and time to share memories.
Arthur was born in Bancroft, Iowa, to Marjorie Joan (Bastien) and Arthur Charles Welp Sr. on Jan. 27, 1947. He attended St. John’s Catholic School in Bancroft, graduating in 1965. He went to college at St. John’s in Collegeville, Minn., for one year before transferring to the University of Iowa to earn his bachelor’s degree in 1969.
Arthur enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1969 and served as a military police officer at Fort Carson in Colorado. After being honorably discharged in 1971, he attended the University of Iowa Law School, graduating in 1974. He practiced law with Nyemaster Goode law firm in Des Moines before working for almost 35 years for the Internal Revenue Service, most of that time as an appeals officer.
It was while working at Nyemaster Goode law firm that Art met the love of his life, Barbara Ann Brelsford, who lived in the same apartment complex. They married in 1975 and were pretty much inseparable for 46 years.
Art found his greatest calling as a father and grandfather. As a dad, he adjusted his hours to be at work as early as 6 a.m. so he could be there by the time his kids got home from school. That is just one example of how he gave his kids everything he had, and that never stopped, even after they were grown. Art retired from the IRS in 2010 so he could take on full-time grandparenting duties, even watching a newborn on his own. He continued to care for his grandchildren with his wife, Barb, right up until his death.
He is survived by his wife, Barb; their children, Jenny (Christopher) Thomas of Norwalk, John (Kelli) Welp of Norwalk, and Matt (Whitney) Welp of Cedar Falls; their grandchildren, Holden, Marshall and Violet Thomas of Norwalk and Millie and Max Welp of Norwalk; and his siblings, David (Marilou) Welp of Wimberly, Texas; Mary (Jim) Dierberg of St. Louis, Mo.; Marjorie (Dick) Clough of Burnsville, Minn.; Mark (Jan) Welp of Austin, Texas; Debbie (Craig) Schoeneshoefer of Elk Grove, Calif.; Tom (Cheryl) Welp of Tustin, Calif.; and Chris (Jan) Welp of Clive, Iowa, as well as many other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Arthur and Marjorie Welp, and an infant brother, Mark.
Memorials may be given in Arthur’s name to St. John the Apostle Catholic Church in Norwalk or John Stoddard Cancer Center in Des Moines. This memorial is provided by Overton Funeral Home, 501 West Ashland Ave., Indianola, Iowa, http://www.overtonfuneral.com/